HOUSTON — It took a record day by an undrafted running back for the Houston Texans to end years of frustration against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.

Arian Foster, who spent most of last season on the practice squad, ran for a team record 231 yards and scored three touchdowns to carry the Texans to a 34-24 victory over the defending AFC champion Colts on Sunday.

“Coming into the league, you don’t know what to expect, especially if you are not heralded and there’s not a lot of publicity,” Foster said. “You see guys like Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub and the way they carry themselves, and you try to mimic it and make your own personality. I feel privileged to be here.”

Foster had the NFL’s second-best opening weekend rushing performance since 1933, topped only by Buffalo’s O.J. Simpson’s 250 in 1973 against New England. He also surpassed Domanick Davis’ team record of 158 yards, set in 2004 at Jacksonville.

The Texans (1-0) ran for a franchise record 257 yards and backed up their bold talk in the offseason that they were ready to challenge Indianapolis. The Colts came into the game with 15 wins in 16 games in the series, including rallying from 17 points down in the previous two meetings in Houston.

“We had to have patience,” Foster said. “It didn’t feel like I was going to be able to get going early, but you keep pounding and pounding, and they start getting a little tired and we start getting a little tired. It’s a test of wills.”

Foster, acquired by the Texans last summer, had 33 carries in gaining the most yards by a Colts’ opponent.

“We failed to rise to the occasion, which we don’t normally do,” Colts linebacker Clint Session said. “We normally get out of these kinds of games, but we couldn’t do it.”

Manning completed 40 of 57 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns, the fourth-highest opening weekend passing yards total since 1933, and three touchdowns. He threw a 10-yard TD pass to Dallas Clark with 4:52 left to cut Houston’s lead to 27-17.

But Foster ran for 41 yards on the Texans’ next series and capped his day with an 8-yard TD run.

The Texans ranked 30th in rushing last season, and building a ground attack was a focal point at training camp. Foster beat out Steve Slaton for the No. 1 running back spot, despite spending the first 10 games of last season on the practice squad.

“We heard all offseason that our running game wasn’t efficient,” Foster said. “You can either let it get to you, or let it get in you, and I feel like we let it get in us, and we used it.”